Meet Filmmaker Matthew Hashiguchi: Good Luck Soup
J-Sei At the Movies: An Evening with Filmmaker Matthew Hashiguchi
Friday, September 24, 6:30 pm via Zoom
Please join us for what is sure to be a fascinating talk with documentary filmmaker and photographer Matthew Hashiguchi about his past work and current projects. Although presently based in Georgia, where he is a university professor in communication arts, Matt grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, which was the subject of his first feature-length documentary, GOOD LUCK SOUP (2016). It tells the very personal story about his family’s experience as Japanese Americans before, during, and after World War II and about growing up mixed race in white suburbia. His paternal grandmother, Eva — who grew up near Sacramento but eventually resettled in the Cleveland area following her family’s incarceration in the Arkansas camps during World War II — proves to be the star of the film and most spirited member of his family.
We’re very fortunate that Matt has kindly provided easy access to watch GOOD LUCK SOUP online prior to our meeting on September 24. We’ll send you a link when you RSVP.
RSVP with “Sept Movie Night” in the subject line.
You’ll receive Zoom information prior to the event.
About the Filmmaker
Matthew Hashiguchi is a documentary filmmaker whose work investigates the diverse experiences, identities, and cultures of American society. His first feature-length documentary GOOD LUCK SOUP was broadcast nationally on PBS World’s America ReFramed, won the Best Local Documentary Award at the Chagrin Documentary Film Festival, and received a 2016 Documentary Fund Award from the Center for Asian American Media and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. His other documentary work, which has addressed topics such as undocumented immigration, preserving community in post-Katrina New Orleans, and unexpected experiences in the Japanese American Internment Camps, has screened at many other festivals. His current project, AMERICAN DREAMING, is about undocumented immigrants trying to get college degrees in the state of Georgia. He is also associate professor of multimedia film and production at Georgia Southern University.
J-Sei Movie Night Bento
*** On hiatus for September ***
Chef Yuji is busy preparing special bento offerings for J-Sei Family Fest on Sunday, September 26. We hope you will enjoy Chef Yuji’s bento and other culinary offerings at Family Fest! Movie Night Bento will be back next month in October.
In the meantime, you might like to order a bento to enjoy on Movie Night from one of the many fine Japanese restaurants in the East Bay and Greater Bay Area, including Musashi in Berkeley.
Support J-Sei At the Movies
Thanks to you, J-Sei At the Movies recently celebrated its third anniversary! We look forward to more creative programming with educational and inspiring Japanese and Japanese American films. We are especially grateful for the up close and personal chats with filmmakers as we learn so much from the exchange.
We love having a growing and enthusiastic audience. You are the best! We welcome any donations to help us offset costs for Movie Night. Thanks for considering this.
Naomi Hirahara is the Edgar Award–winning author of the Mas Arai mystery series, including Summer of the Big Bachi, which was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and one of Chicago Tribune’s Ten Best Mysteries and Thrillers; Gasa Gasa Girl; Snakeskin Shamisen; and Hiroshima Boy. She is also the author of the LA-based Ellie Rush mysteries. A former editor of The Rafu Shimpo newspaper, she has co-written non-fiction books like Life after Manzanar and the award-winning Terminal Island: Lost Communities of Los Angeles Harbor.
Kerwin will also join us to remember Hiroshi Kashiwagi, the celebrated and beloved Nisei poet, playwright, writer, and actor who sadly left us in 2019, just shy of his 97th birthday. Hiroshi is the star/featured performer of Kerwin’s “Japantown Trilogy,” and we’ll watch a trailer and shorts, including a moving video tribute to Hiroshi, A Meeting at Tule Lake, by cinematographer Ben Arikawa, who will also be our special guest this evening.
KERWIN BERK is a Sansei filmmaker who was born and raised in San Francisco’s Japantown. He is an award-winning journalist who worked at newspapers and wire services in Asia and the United States for more than 20 years. His last stop was at his hometown newspaper – The Chronicle. Today, he is a freelance writer and independent filmmaker who still calls The City his home. He has written, produced, and directed award-winning films and web series, including The Virtues of Corned Beef Hash, Infinity & Chashu Ramen, and Gold Mountain.
BEN ARIKAWA is a Northern California Sansei. He lives not far from where his paternal grandparents settled to work on a fruit orchard about a hundred years ago. Late in life, he realized that he has a need to tell stories and has been exploring his literary side. Ben has contributed an article to Pacific Citizen and several articles to Discover Nikkei. His stories reflect his experiences as a Japanese American, son, husband, and father. He is also exploring his artistic side as a director of photography for Ikeibi Films on Kikan: The Homecoming (2019), the web series Gold Mountain (2016), and as an actor in Infinity and Chashu Ramen (2013).
YURIKO GAMO ROMER is an award-winning director based in San Francisco. She holds a Master’s degree in documentary filmmaking from Stanford University and is a Student Academy Award winner, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Scholar, and American Association of Japanese University Women Scholar. In June 1999 she started Flying Carp Productions. Her current documentary project, DIAMOND DIPLOMACY, explores the relationship between the United States and Japan through a shared love of baseball.
Cathy Park Hong was raised in Los Angeles. She graduated from Oberlin College and has an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She is the author of three acclaimed poetry collections, Engine Empire (2012), Dance Dance Revolution (2007), and Translating Mo’um (2002). Hong is the recipient of the Windham-Campbell Prize, the Guggenheim Fellowship, and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. She is the poetry editor of The New Republic and is a full professor at Rutgers University.